’It’s mine,’ Cheng Zongyang thought to himself.

Ten thousand and eight hundred taels was just enough to expand his Wilderness World once!

’This money... I have to make Li Lu hand it over to me willingly.’

"Not bad at all. A bountiful harvest," Cheng Zongyang said, nodding with a smile. He then looked at a large chest to the side and asked, "And what’s in here?"

Li Lu snapped another lock, and after opening the chest, he said with excitement on his face:

"In here are the Martial Arts Techniques, Martial Arts, and medicinal formulas I’ve collected from Martial Arts Halls, the Government Office, and various families. There are also some old books I found in basements and secret rooms that I couldn’t make sense of. Brother Cheng, you’re a man of the world, so I brought them back for you to take a look."

But Cheng Zongyang wasn’t in a hurry to look. Instead, he gave Li Lu a strange look. "Li Lu, how did you find so many basements and secret rooms?"

Hearing this, Li Lu scoffed. "I was one of the government officials for so many years. All those families, merchants, and Martial Arts Halls... which one of them *doesn’t* have a secret room for storing their valuables?

I just told my men to go to these places and start tapping around with hammers. They were bound to find something. But many were already empty, probably because the original owners had moved their things out beforehand.

We focused our search on the residences where entire families had been wiped out, their bodies left unattended. Those are the places where you can still find the good stuff."

After hearing this, Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but give Li Lu a thumbs-up.

"Li Lu, you’ve really proven that experience counts. I’m impressed!"

"Hahaha, you flatter me. Quick, quick, see if those books are useful. Also, how much can we trade these Martial Arts Techniques and Martial Arts for with your master?"

This was the real reason Li Lu had collected all these things.

Previously, Cheng Zongyang had taken the items left behind in Jade Peak County using the excuse of trading them for Medicinal Materials for a medicine bath.

Having gotten a taste of the profits, Li Lu knew that these Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts were worth less than a few pounds of rice and flour in the current Jade Peak County. He also knew they would be far more valuable if sold in Luoyang.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t answer, instead casually picking up a book from the chest.

Detailed Meridian Explanation

Looking at the title, Cheng Zongyang opened it. Inside were diagrams tracing the paths of the human body’s meridians. Each diagram was accompanied by a detailed explanation.

After reading a dozen or so pages, Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly.

It was somewhat similar to the meridian explanations recorded in the Sixth Grade Meridian Cultivation Method within his Breath-holding Technique.

But it was far less detailed than his Breath-holding Technique.

Relatively speaking, however, it was still quite good. At the very least, it could help a Martial Artist understand the details of the meridian system.

He put it down and picked up another.

Essence of Body Refining

As before, he flipped through a few pages. It discussed points of caution for Body Forging and the key areas to focus on.

For someone like Zhao the Seventh, who hadn’t even reached Entry Grade, this was a decent book.

Hundred-Forged Weapons Manual, Qian’s Herbal Manual, Nourishing Life Method, Martial Arts Lecture Notes, Anecdotes and Tales...

Next were the Martial Arts Techniques and Martial Arts.

Body Refining Introduction Method, Skin, Flesh, Tendons, and Bones Tempering Method... Mountain-Shattering Fist, Wave-Breaking Saber Technique, Mountain-Opening Six Techniques, Iron Leg Skill...

Li Lu didn’t disturb him, but sat back down at the table and began to eat slowly.

Cheng Zongyang flipped through them one by one, getting a general idea of what he was looking at.

To those families and Martial Arts Halls, these books might have been treasured possessions, but to Cheng Zongyang, they were merely average.

As for the Cultivation Techniques, they were mostly Martial Arts Techniques of the Lower Three Grades, and the Martial Arts were mostly Beginner or Middle Level. Nothing special.

But for the village, all these books were quite good.

They would not only increase the variety and number of books in the village’s collection but also give the martial practitioners in the village more options. It would mean not everyone had to use the same Cultivation Technique.

Finally, there were some medicinal formulas.

However, they were mostly for assisting with Martial Arts cultivation. Before he had met Zhang Jinquan, these formulas would have been decent. But now, they were of little use to Cheng Zongyang.

These were all generic formulas from Martial Arts Halls, naturally inferior to the more numerous and specialized formulas provided by Zhang Jinquan.

Cheng Zongyang put down the formulas, then theatrically took out a brush and paper. He wrote everything down before saying to Li Lu:

"I’ll write these down and send them to my master’s side to get them appraised. We can talk after that. Also, what do you plan to do with the money? If you want to keep it for yourself, I won’t include it in the list."

Li Lu smiled. "Where is there to spend money in the County Town right now? Trading it for Cultivation Resources to strengthen myself is the best way. Brother Cheng, take half of this money. For the other half, help me trade it for supplies suitable for my Cultivation."

Not caring whether the offer was sincere or just for show, Cheng Zongyang also smiled and shook his head.

"I can’t accept a reward I haven’t earned. You and the other brothers worked hard to bring this money back, so I won’t take any. But since you want to trade it for supplies, why don’t you hear my idea?"

Li Lu thought for a moment and nodded. "Go on."

"We trade all these Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts for Body Tempering Powder. You should get at least ten or twenty portions. If things go well, you should be able to cultivate to the Seventh Grade. Even if that doesn’t work out, you can still reach the Peak of Eighth Grade.

As for the silver taels, just give them to me to cover the cost of preparing the Entry Grade Medicine Powder. You can consider it me taking advantage of you.

After I prepare the medicine powder, I’ll give it to you, and you can choose your own trusted subordinates to use it. When the time comes, those people will all be your loyal men. What do you think?"

Li Lu thought it over and smiled. "Alright, we’ll do as you say."

Having Martial Artists as subordinates would indeed be great. On this trip, without any Martial Artists, he had to handle many things himself, which was rather frustrating. But with Martial Artists under him, his life as the boss would be much more comfortable.

With the decision made, both men were pleased with the outcome.

After the meal, Li Lu had someone deliver the three chests to Cheng Zongyang’s residence.

All the Medicinal Materials were sent to a warehouse in South City, where Cheng Zongyang would personally handle them.

At the residence, in the rear courtyard’s study.

Cheng Zongyang sat at his desk, drafting a brand-new Oath Contract.

’When there aren’t significant benefits involved, everything is easy to discuss.’

’But when a person’s strength grows and they have more people under them, something called ambition also begins to appear.’

’The reason I’m letting Li Lu cultivate his own trusted men is for one thing: resources!’

’To train loyal Martial Artists, you need a massive amount of resources. And the only channel for him to obtain those resources is through me.’

’Ultimately, in order to get Cultivation Resources, Li Lu will have no choice but to constantly acquire money and other materials to trade for them.’

’Furthermore, once he has more loyal subordinates, won’t they also want to become stronger? Even if Li Lu wants to stop, his own men will push him to continue.’

’This will create a chain reaction.’

’It’s just like how the Noble Families control the advancement channels for scholars.’

’I can’t achieve that level yet, but I can plan for it slowly.’

And the final piece is the Oath Contract.

He was drafting it as a "Cooperation Agreement."

This new contract was also meant to bind them in cooperation, but the time wasn’t right yet.

When the time is right, he would present this new Oath Contract. By then, they would accept it willingly.

Next, he considered how many portions of Body Tempering Powder he could get in exchange for those Cultivation Techniques and other items.

A moment later, Cheng Zongyang made his decision.

’In a place like Xiangyang, a medicine that helps an Eighth Grade Martial Artist improve... fifty taels per portion isn’t excessive, right? And it has to be shipped all the way from Luoyang, so there are travel costs, right?’

’It’s only normal that after picking through them, some are worth a bit more and some are worth less, right?’

’After a quick calculation, the Cultivation Techniques could be roughly exchanged for two thousand five hundred taels of silver, which would buy twenty-five portions of Body Tempering Powder. Normally, that should be enough to help Li Lu reach the Seventh Grade.’

’Yeah, that should be possible... I think?’

’The reason I didn’t trade the Medicinal Materials for the medicine bath for Body Tempering Powder is to keep him from getting too many benefits at once.’

Of course, as for that ten thousand and eight hundred taels of silver, he would use the updated medicinal materials for the medicine bath from his second uncle to prepare the portions.

Letting Li Lu use silver to pay the preparation fee for an Entry Grade Medicine Bath was already a bargain for him. If sold separately, even three or four hundred taels per portion would have been cheap.

As for the Five Grains Inner Replenishing Pill, he would bring it up after some time under the pretext of a "reply from his master," which would also be the opportune moment to introduce the cooperation agreement.

With his plans finalized, Cheng Zongyang considered the matter settled.

The silver coins were already in the treasury, and he could take them whenever he wanted. As for the books and other texts, he had already stored them in his Wilderness World.